East St. Louis, Ill. – A federal jury in Southern Illinois has found Steven Dorfman, 39, and John A. Sand, 49, both of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, guilty on multiple counts of fraud. The verdicts come after a two-week trial that exposed a sophisticated operation designed to sell worthless health insurance policies through their company, Simple Health, based in South Florida. The company, under the guise of providing comprehensive coverage, deceived consumers into purchasing plans that offered minimal benefits.
U.S. Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe highlighted the severity of the fraud, pointing out the catastrophic financial impact on victims left with exorbitant medical bills. “This brazen fraud had disastrous effects for many of the victims,” Crowe stated, commending the efforts of the St. Louis Office of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the prosecuting attorneys for bringing the fraudulent operation to light.
Dorfman, the CEO, and Sand, the vice president of sales at Simple Health, orchestrated a deceptive marketing strategy, misleading over 400,000 consumers nationwide into buying limited indemnity insurance plans. These plans, as revealed during the trial, provided inadequate coverage, leaving policyholders to cover the bulk of their medical expenses. The fraudulent activities, running from May 2012 to November 2018, amassed more than $190 million in revenue for Simple Health.